This Christmas will be the last for the popular show Lights on Evergreen in Demarest after it became a local phenomenon during the past five years.

Daniel Eisenberg, the Demarest teen who started the yearly tradition of elaborate light shows as a tribute to his late mother, announced on the show's Facebook page that this is the last Christmas season to see the vibrant display because he and his father will be moving to Florida in the summer.

"The support has been overwhelming. It's truly insane to see how many cars come nonstop during the night during the holiday season." Eisenberg said.

Eisenberg, 18, began putting up elaborate holiday light displays after his mother, Elena, a lover of Christmas decorations, died of a heart attack in October 2010, when he was 10 years old. She was 46.

“This happened so close to Christmas. We were so sad that year, we didn’t have many lights,” Eisenberg told NorthJersey.com in 2017.

Shortly after her death, Eisenberg and his father bought light displays that synchronized with music playing from a speaker in an effort to regain their Christmas spirit. Over the years, the light show gradually improved to a display programmed by Eisenberg himself that is perfectly synchronized with a low-power radio broadcast from his basement playing high-tempo remixes of classic Christmas music.

File Photo: In 2017, Daniel Eisenberg stands in front of his yard containing over 115,000 Christmas lights, synchronized to modern mashups of classic Christmas songs being broadcasted from a low-power radio station in his basement.(Photo: Viorel Florescu)

Although the flashing reindeer and lighted archway provide a spectacle for the cars that file past on Evergreen Place, Eisenberg has also been collecting donations in which half of the proceeds go to the improvement of his equipment and the other half go to the American Heart Association.

Last year, Eisenberg raised over $9,000, and the total is more than $31,000 from the past four years. As of Dec. 26, roughly $7,100 of Eisenberg's $10,000 goal has been raised this year.

"With the thousands of dollars we’ve raised for the American Heart Association, it makes all the hard work and months of setup so worth it." he said.

After he completes his senior year at Northern Valley Demarest, Eisenberg will make the move to Florida and hopes to attend the University of Tampa or work for the Florida East Coast Railway, which has been a dream of his.

As for what's next for the lights, Eisenberg has had thoughts about bringing the tradition to his new home.

Although he is leaving, Eisenberg is grateful for the reception of those who have come to see his light display as it has evolved over the years, creating a special tribute to his mother. He wrote on the Facebook page: "I know my mom is smiling down, watching all the lights nightly."

The lights usually come down Jan. 1 or 2, but because this is the last year, Eisenberg has mentioned on the show's page that he is leaving the lights up until at least Jan. 5.

Email: zuritaa@northjersey.com

Lights on Evergreen

To see the lights display, head to the Eisenberg residence, 38 Evergreen Place in Demarest, and tune in to 98.1 FM. It starts daily at 4:30 p.m. and lasts until 11 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, and 11:30 p.m. on Friday and Saturday.